


Eleventh Hour

by Tsula



Category: DCU (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fear, Violence, heroic save, surprise character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-13 14:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4525944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsula/pseuds/Tsula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When running fails it’s nice to have a hero with good timing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eleventh Hour

Fear is a powerful motivator. So much so that it kept you moving long after you would have normally collapsed from pain and fatigue. As long as you could still _hear_ that massive green beast at your heels, you couldn’t even _think_ of stopping. You knew that if you stopped, if you slowed even just a little, that he would kill you. 

There wasn’t a hint of doubt about that. 

So even when every inch of your body burned and ached with your exertion, even when you couldn’t quite catch your breath as you ran, you didn’t stop and you didn’t slow down. Even though you knew that you couldn’t keep up the pace much longer.

It felt like if you could just hold out a little longer, keep pushing a little harder, then maybe you could escape. Or maybe someone would show up to stop him. 

You ducked under a low hanging pillar as you raced through the maze of broken buildings and rubble. Not nearly long enough after did you hear something smash straight through that pillar. It sent a terrible surge of paralyzing fear racing down your spine that had you tripping over things you should have been jumping over. You forced yourself around a sharp corner hoping that he wouldn’t be able to turn as quickly given his massive size. 

However his heavy footsteps never tripped up and never slowed down. 

Your heart pounded so hard against your chest that it felt like it was carving its way out. You gasped for air even though it burned your throat and lungs. Your legs were starting to get too weak to hold your pace or even just to hold you up.

Soon you wouldn’t be able to run anymore.

Soon you wouldn’t be able to stand.

_Soon you would be dead._

You rounded another corner just as fast and as sharply as you could. All you needed was space to lose him, though you knew he would find you again. You just needed a moment to catch your breath, to find a place to hide. 

He slammed right through a chunk of the wall as he followed you down the narrow path. You felt the breeze of something blowing by your back that you prayed to God was part of the wall and not his massive green hand. 

You could only imagine what he could do to you with just that one hand. This thought should have helped push your body to go faster, but you were just too spent. You’d run too far and too fast already—you were on your last leg and there was nothing that could change that. 

Like a godsend though you saw something up ahead. It was small and jagged, but it was your only hope. At the base of a tall structure you could see a wide crack that was just large enough for you to climb into. It was dark enough to look deep, though you couldn’t be sure until you climbed inside. It was a gamble, but it was better than collapsing in the dirt where you would be at the monster’s mercy. This way you actually had a shot of getting away from him. Though there was still the chance he could reach you, or pull the building apart, or even just collapse the thing on top of you. 

These were chances you were going to have to take. 

Maintaining your speed you headed straight for the crack in the foundation and flung yourself low just as soon as you were close enough. It put you in all the way to your knees and you had to shimmy the rest of the way in using your arms to pull yourself along. 

It was a tight fit and you couldn’t even lift your head very high without smacking it against the concrete. You wiggled just as quickly as you could, but it wasn’t fast enough. 

A massive hand wrapped around your ankle and started pulling you right back out. You let out a scream that could be probably be heard for miles as you desperately tried to grab something, anything to hold onto. In return for your scream there came a roar that shook the walls. 

The hand on your ankle slacked and you lurched forward as something slammed into your assailant. You hurried as far forward as you could go, not even worrying about what would happen if the whole damn thing were to collapse in on you. Better that death than what was waiting outside. 

Though, once you were pressed in just as far as you could go you realized what it was you were hearing. 

Fighting. 

It sounded like two great beasts locked in combat. Roars back and forth, massive crashes that shook the ground—you lay there catching your breath, staring towards the crack with wide, fearful eyes. You couldn’t see what was going on out there and part of you couldn’t stand not knowing. Something was fighting the beast, something that had undoubtedly spared you from it, and you needed to know what. 

Carefully you crawled forward, ready to slide back at a moment’s notice. Inch by inch you crawled as you tried to catch a glimpse of the terrible battle outside. 

Then all at once came the silence. One of the beasts had won and you could only hope it wasn’t the one trying to eat you. You slid back suddenly as you saw green outside the crack, but just as suddenly you stopped. It wasn’t the same shade and the skin was smoother. The eyes that looked back at you were more human and also familiar. You _knew_ those eyes, you knew that face. 

“Hulk,” your voice was so low, so strained that it didn’t even sound like _you_ speaking. 

He let out a deep rumble as he watched you move forward, moving back just a little to let you crawl out to him. He had to help you get the last half of your body out though as your arms stopped supporting your weight. His tentative touch could not have been more welcome as he lifted you into his massive arms. 

You leaned into his chest feeling with a relief that seemed to resonate straight down into your soul. Yet as the adrenaline and terror abated, the pain seemed to triple. 

You whimpered and it made him flinch. “Not you,” you said quickly just in case he thought he’d hurt you. “Adrenalines wearing off.”

He still didn’t look too reassured or happy for that matter. No doubt he was wondering just how injured you were exactly, but it would be his other half that could help with that. Until then you could deal with the pain, especially now that the danger was over. 

You looked around suddenly for the monster that had been chasing you and you didn’t have to look far. Killer Croc was looking much worse for the wear and was thankfully unconscious. He had apparently met his match and then some in another not-so-jolly green giant. 

Meanwhile Hulk looked just as indestructible as always. You nuzzled up against his throat as he carried you off smugly like the spoils of war. 

“My hero.” You loved the way his lips tilted into a smirk at your words and better still the way those lips felt against your own. “ _My Hulk_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Totally wanted to have these two duke it out for awhile. Still planning other instances of it, but this kind jumped me out of nowhere and I just had to write it. xD


End file.
